Submitting to my Ex Uncle-Chapter 195

"This is the same man who holds me softly at night," Celeste thought.

Her head spinned as the guttural scream of the bound man tore through the walls again. It rattled straight into her bones. It was too much.

Her stomach clenched hard. She pressed her lips together, willing herself to keep it in.

"I..." The word trembled from her mouth before she could stop it. Her face twisted, her body rebelled against her. Her chest rose and fell in a frantic rhythm, and then she knew, she couldn’t keep it in.

Dominic’s attention snapped instantly to her. The knife stilled midair. His head turned, and his gaze fastened on her with the same intensity he’d used on the man a second ago, only this time it was different. It was softer, immediate, and worried.

"What is it, sweetheart?" His voice dropped. His hand let go of the knife completely as he stepped toward her without hesitation.

Celeste’s throat tightened. She tried to swallow it down, and tried to keep her dignity intact, but her body betrayed her. "I..." She forced it out. Her breath got shallow, as her chest heaved.

Dominic’s eyes sharpened with understanding before she could finish. A sharp snap of his fingers echoed across the room. Two of his men moved immediately, appearing at her side with a porcelain bowl and a fresh towel, while another came forward with a cup of cold water.

Celeste bent forward just in time, clutching the edge of the bowl as her stomach gave way. Her body shook with the force of it. Shame crept into her chest, heavy and hot.

Dominic’s hand slid into her hair, holding it back carefully so nothing touched her face. His other hand pressed steady at her back, drawing soothing circles against her back, and rubbing down her spine with a tenderness that shouldn’t exist in a room filled with blood and screams. He crouched beside her as if there was nothing else in the world to tend to but her.

When it was over, Celeste sagged, drained. Her eyes were glassy as she wiped her lips with the back of her hand. "I’m sorry," she whispered, her voice breaking. Her body still trembled from the heave.

"Shhh." Dominic hushed softly. "Shuu." He pressed the towel gently to her mouth, dabbing it clean himself, unwilling to let her hands do it. "You did well." His praise was low, warm, and solid. He took the glass of water from his man, and lifted it toward her lips with steady patience.

Her hands shook as she accepted it. She took slow gulps, and let the cool water slid down her dry throat, until Dominic’s hand came to rest lightly on her back again.

"Easy," he cautioned softly, watching her intently as though she were made of glass. His thumb brushed over the slope of her shoulder. "Not too fast."

She lowered the glass, her breath unsteady.

"Would you want to go back to the car and stay with Rodger?" Dominic asked, his voice deliberately calm, as if giving her an out was the most natural thing in the world. "Or I can have them set up a room upstairs. You don’t have to stay here."

Celeste shook her head quickly, wiping at her damp eyes with the towel. "I’m fine now," she sniffed, though her voice was still cracked, betraying her. "I’ll stay here."

"You don’t have to," he murmured again. His eyes searched her face, lingering on the color in her cheeks.

"I’ll stay," she repeated, firmer this time, though her breaths still came fast. She wanted to prove she could.

Dominic’s jaw flexed.

Then, leaning down, he pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead, then her lips. The kiss was soft and grounding, before he kissed the crown of her head. "Alright, sweetheart," he whispered against her hair.

Only when he was sure she was steady enough did he guide her to sit back in the chair. He lingered for one more second. His thumb brushed her jaw, before he finally turned away.

Dominic’s steps were unhurried as he moved back toward the man bound to the chair. Each tap of his shoe against the floor echoed like the ticking of a clock, dragging the moment out, pulling it taut. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Celeste sat where he had guided her, her body still trembling from the heave that had just left her. Her lips were faintly damp from the water he had pressed to them.

Dominic reached the chair. His hand hovered for a moment over the array of tools spread before him. He stared at the knife still streaked with blood, pliers catching the dim light, the whip, and the rods. He looked down at them, then let out a long, slow breath.

His gaze flickered past the blades, past the broken man, and found her. Celeste. She was watching him.

Her eyes, glassy, and rimmed with fresh unshed tears, whispered mercy. She begged him for that.

Dominic’s jaw flexed. He turned back to the man, and for a heartbeat it seemed as though he would ignore the silent request and press forward with his usual methods.

His fingers brushed the handle of the knife again, curling around it, and lifting it from the table. The metal glinted cruelly under the light.

He raised it, then stilled.

A breath caught in his chest, deep and rough, and he set the knife down again with deliberate slowness. His hand moved instead to the side, to the short black barrel of a pistol resting close by.

He picked it up.

The weight of it settled in his palm. He turned it once, twice, with his thumb brushing over the cool ridges of the slide. His face turned away from Celeste’s, and away from the man’s desperate, broken stare.

His finger curled against the trigger.

For a stretched, unbearable silence, the world held its breath. His men watched him, some of them raising a brow. The torture wasn’t over.

Bang.

The shot split the air like lightning. The man’s body jolted, then slumped forward heavily. He became lifeless in an instant.

Dominic lowered the gun. Smoke curled around it from its muzzle. He drew in a breath, long and steady, and let it out in silence.

Celeste swallowed hard. Relief slid down her throat. Her chest loosened for the first time since it had begun.

From across the room, Ronan’s head shook slowly. His eyes narrowed, disapproval was sharp in the set of his mouth. "That was too kind," he muttered under his breath.

Dominic didn’t answer. His gaze returned to Celeste, and the shadow in his eyes softened.